


Short of Breath

by 01_WishfulThinking_10



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Minecraft diaries - Fandom, aphmau - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Confusion, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Family Secrets, Full Shift Werewolves, Guilt, Internal Conflict, Minor Blaze/dottie, Minor Travlyn, Monsters, Mystery, Original au, Pheonix Alliance, Revolution, Secrets, Swordfighting, Swords & Sorcery, Trust, Werewolves, zane ro'maeve - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2018-12-17 23:38:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11862024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/01_WishfulThinking_10/pseuds/01_WishfulThinking_10
Summary: Gasping for breath as the man grips her throat, making her last moments pure torture, she sees no hope. But in uttering something he hadn't expected, she is saved. He becomes vulnerable to the natural dangerous in the mysterious world and the young woman plans on escaping alone…But she can'tShe helps him, providing a safe haven for his recovery despite her better judgement and common sense.Unable to expect the consequences.They later realise that, to achieve a noble and (to their distaste) shared goal, they will need each others help. And maybe the help of some friends along the way...[this is an MCD AU] [tags will be updated as the story continues]





	1. Common Sense

He clutched her throat and held her up off the ground, making it hard for her to breath. But he didn't want her dead yet apparently as she knew his grip could be far stronger. He was tall, far taller than herself, so he was able to hold her so that their faces were at the same level. His icy blue eye sent chills down her spine, it felt as though that piercing stare could read her every thoughts, intentions and memories. She felt extremely exposed. She felt all this and yet only one of the pale blues were visible, the other hidden behind a think fringe of deep black. The rest of his hair was cut to a suitable length, flicking upwards at the ends, symbolising the possibility of curls. Of the part of his face that wasn't covered by hair, most of it was obscured by a skin-tight dark grey mask, a white stripe along the edge where the remainder of his face was shown, slight freckles spotted out, mostly hidden by the fabric but striking against his pale skin.

 

Beads of sweat trickled down her nose and cheek due to the effort needed just to keep breathing, alongside the exertion from struggling in his grip. He laughed, a cackle as cold as the hand holding her by the neck.

 

"Well, look what I found…" he purred, milking his victory "what a prize will come about me when I show you off to the town" She tried to gulp, but it got caught in her throat where he had her in a firm hold. She kicked out at him but found herself so tired from her struggle and lack of oxygen that she merely tapped his thigh with her toes. This caused him to laugh once again

 

"Now, before I go claim my reward for your death…" he said the last word as if it meant nothing, as if it were irrelevant to a person like him. "…I'm going to give you a chance"

 

Her eyes widened, hope trickled through her.

 

"If you give me a good enough reason to let you live- and I'm not guaranteeing your freedom, just your life-" he made clear "I'll show you mercy" his eye was still locked with hers. She tried her best to nod, and her mind started working as hard as it could with such a limited oxygen supply.

 

"Now I don't have much of a need for possessions" he said, amused "and I can get any money I might need from your reward….". Her eyes, straining in their sockets, looked down onto the rest of him. she was looking for anything, anything to spark some kind of idea.

He was dressed very well. Dark grey waistcoat with white trim to match the mask, a black high-collared cape that, at closer inspection, had silver embroidery on it -thin, sharp triangles and shapes, slotted together perfectly and stretched like a web across the whole cape- it was fastened by a thin sliver chain with a plain silver button to match. He had straight black pants of expensive material that were tucked neatly into shiny, polished to perfection, armoured boots. From the end of his cape, a black leather sheath just pointed out, no doubt holding a sword. But as the cape reached almost to his ankles and his sheath being attached at his hip, it meant his sword was longer than his legs, which were already long in themselves. A shiver forced its way through her.

 

"I usually value knowledge" he said, tipping his head slightly and diagonally backwards "but I seriously doubt you have anything of worth to share that I do not already know or find…" he paused, choosing his words "… of interest to my cause" he finished smoothly. When the only answer he received was her (literally) strangled groans and huffs, he sniggered cruelly once more.

 

"Nothing to show for yourself huh?" he said so softly, it was almost a whisper "you're even more pathetic than I thought" he spat. With a grunt he threw her and she landed, panting and gasping for breath. The black spots that had been forming over her eyes were slowly shrinking into nothing and her head throbbed with the sudden rush of air. When she looked up at him through tear blurred eyes, he had a sword raised, poised to strike. He looked down at her, but her eyes were drawn to the sword. The blade was a solid black, so dark in colour and presence (she suspected it was a cursed or magic weapon) that it didn't even glint in the evening sun. one edge was jagged, like a saw, the other straight but looking just as sharp. The hilt and handle were silver with a circular black stone at the end of the hand grip. A matching black stone in the shape of the crucifix was on the hilt, placed as if on top of another symbol -it was almost like the simplest of faces- which was (to her surprise) a deep blue.

 

Her eyes widened, she knew.

 

He aimed, making sure it would only take one hit, and she saw no remorse in his eyes. As he was beginning the swing that would ensure her premature death, she put a hand out in front of her to shield her face, eyes squeezed shut.

 

"I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!" she screamed. A sharp pain struck in her palm and something trickled down her wrist. The pause seemed to last forever. She wasn't dead. Cautiously she opened one eye, looking up at the man. His eye was wide, his arms slack, she saw slight fear in his stance.

 

"what… what do you mean?" he said, the coldness gone. She took a shaky breath.

 

"You… you're a son of Esmund… right?" she asked, her voice wavering "a Ro'Maeve?" he took an uneasy step backwards, hands shaking.

 

"J-judging by your colour scheme and appearance… z-Zane? Zane Ro'Maeve?" she said, scared out of her wits.

 

She watched as the man's walls crumbled down.

 

He gasped; a choked, spluttering gasp that shook his body. He kept taking wobbly steps backwards but tripped and fell, head hitting the ground hard, splaying his limbs out. His chest rose and fell shakily and uneven. Crawling forward cautiously, she got a better look at him. His eye was wide, pupil diluted. He seemed to be in a cold sweat, paler than before (if possible). After a minute of constant shaking and movement from the man, his eye rolled back and his eyelid snapped shut, his body becoming still. She remained frozen for a long time after, unsure and terrified.

Only when she heard the distant howl of wolves did she look up from the stiff figure before her and see how dark it had become. She needed to go.

 

Her muscles moved to sprint away, her mind was repeating _go, go, go, go_ over and over. Common sense told her that there was a murderous man before her, the night was upon them, and there were monsters out. She needed to _run._

 

But she didn't.

 

Her heart forced her to lift the man as best she could, draping his arm over her shoulders and supporting him with all her strength. She was shuffling away awkwardly when she thought to get his sword. She didn't want to, there was a dark presence about it, but she knew that her own weapon was lost, chucked away somewhere during his and her fight, and that she needed some way to defend herself in the case of the night beasts.

 

She grabbed it and trekked awkwardly back to her hideout, forcibly ignoring her mind and senses that were screaming the logical choice at her; _Drop him and leave._

 

_Stay safe_

 

But she knew she had done something to this man, to Zane. It was her fault he was in this state. And despite the fact that he had tried to kill her a little while ago, she couldn't stand the thought of being the reason he got teared limb-from-limb by the hungry monsters that plagued her worlds night.

 

She was stuck with him, like it or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this after midnight with no clue what universe this was, who the girl was and why this scene is happening. (0_0)?
> 
> But here we are  
> And so far I only know that this is a MC Diaries AU and that the girl is most likely going to be an original Diaries character (maybe OC but probs not). I have no plans for what comes next, I just read what I wrote (in the morning) and decided I want to post this. ._.
> 
> I might continue this or I might not…  
> If I do, I'll probs do it after I finish my current main Fic (Loving the Cat) and I've actually planned an outline or something. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Also I drew this Zane I (re)designed today at school so I'ma post it on my DeviantArt (01WishfulThinking10) if you wanna check it out. 


	2. Lack of Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zane wakes up in a strange place with a painful headache and a girl he tried to kill dabbing at his forehead

He had nightmares, mostly nonsensical but bad enough that he woke up to a cold sweat. Shivering, he realised before he had opened his eyes that someone was gently dabbing his forehead with damp cloth. He had vague memories of his mother doing the same to him when he had come to her when he'd had bad dreams as a child, so for a moment he thought everything, growing up with all his unimaginable struggles, was just a dream. Yet when he opened his eyes he wasn't met by the jade eyes of his mother, but a pair of golden eyes that seemed to sparkle, stark against her pale skin but a stunning combination with her flowing pink locks. He recognised her, though it took him a while with his scattered thoughts, as the young woman he had planned to kill. The woman who had brought him to his knees and caused him to faint in a fit of terror just by _speaking._ His mind flashed with anger and he tried to move forward, intending on hurting her. His head throbbed with unbearable pain and he groaned, grabbing at his hair and hunching over.

 

"I wouldn't do that" she said, voice holding a hint of… amusement? He blinked widely at her, trying to figure her out. Of all the reactions he could have imagined (gruffness, fear, unsureness, even kindness) this wasn't one of them.

 

"You hit your head kinda hard and I'm pretty sure I accidently triggered something that sent you into a frenzy of shock" she continued, eyebrow raised but intent on wiping his brow again. He knew he was sweating like crazy and that the cloth would probably be soothing, but something about her both repelled and repulsed him to the point of flinching away and pushing her hand back towards her.

 

Attempting to get up once again he ignored the painful protests of his throbbing head and intended to swing his legs out of the bed, however he felt so stiff and achy it was suicide just sitting up on the side of the bed. Let alone leaving. He groaned again.

 

"Please just stop" she sighed, her eyes were filled with a strange sadness and he didn't understand. He looked purposefully away, the knowledge that she was sitting right next to him made him cringe involuntarily.

"You've been out for over two days, you barely moved" He still refused to look at her.

 

There was a moment of quiet where the only sounds were his laboured breathing and the soft whistling of the wind outside, the air was dense with his discomfort and her sympathy. The idea of her pitying him made him feel sick to the stomach. He gritted his teeth, eyebrows furrowed. She sighed once again before standing up. He flinched at the feeling of the weight difference when she stood.

 

"I'll be in the next room, do whatever you like" she said, walking to the door. she paused when she had half closed the door behind her.

 

"Although I do not recommend trying to leave via window". As she was facing the other direction, he couldn't see her expression, though he could guess there would be some form of smile upon her face. He hoped it was a mocking one. He was much more accustomed to swallowing other people's distasteful behaviour rather than their unprovoked benevolence.

Curiosity sparked his mind at her last words and so, with great difficulty, he kneeled on the bed and looked out the small, high window.

 

About two hundred metres away there was a cliff face, jagged and tough, weather beaten. If he looked up, he could see a sliver of sky between the far edge of the cliff and more rock that seemed to lie horizontally above him. he tried to look down but could only see more cliff as the window was so small.

Lifting a shaky hand, he undid the sturdy latch and edged his head out. Wind blew his hair all around, making it hard to see, yet what he _did_ see sent him sprawling back onto the bed, breathing heavily.

They were suspended by what seemed like wood alone underneath a cliff hang, most likely very well hidden from people above. They were miles from the bottom of the cliff where a raging river snaked its way through, silent because of the distance between him and it.

If he didn't feel safe before, it was nothing to what he felt now.

 

"That woman is a _madman!"_ he muttered to himself, eyes still wide. But the more he thought about it, she was smart too. She is quite widely wanted, dead or alive, and so she built this. Or did she already have it before hand? Did she realise that she would be doing things that would cause people to hunt her down and have it built? Or did she find it or inherit it before the thought crawled into her head?

To put it simply, Zane was perplexed.

 

Laying back down, he looked at the dark wood ceiling, deep in thought. Less than a minute later, his stomach audibly gargled. He was hungry. Incredibly hungry. Groaning, he clutched his stomach and lay there, refusing to find the girl and ask for food. He wasn't going to let her help him more. But the ache of hunger became almost too much for Zane and he was forced to limp to the door in search of food. Just as he reached out for the handle, it turned and the girl opened the door. She walked right into him, her face only reaching his chest because he was fairly tall and the girl was a bit shorter than average. She stepped back blinking widely, startled, before looking up at him.

 

"Oh! You're… you're up" the girl said, eyes trained steadily on him. her eyes were bright and golden in a relentless stare that reminded him, not unpleasantly, of a cat.

He nodded in reply, and cleared his throat, about to grudgingly ask for food when she spoke up;

 

"Did you want something to eat then?" she asked, and her unwavering supply of hospitality nearly made Zane flinch again. Why was she being so accommodative? He'd tried to _kill_ her. Maybe she was hoping he'd feel guilty and leave her alone after this. Or maybe she was keeping him prisoner here or something…

He nodded again, slowly, eyeing her suspiciously. She gave him a small smile and gestured to a dining table behind her with a few chairs.

"You sit down" she began to walk away to the next room where he guessed there was a kitchen "You were out for a long time so I guess you'd be starving"

Zane silently agreed.

 

He had so many questions he wanted to ask her. So many things he wanted to say. He wanted to know who she was, he wanted to ask how she knew, how she'd managed to do the one thing he'd been trying for years with two simple words.

His name. Zane Ro'Maeve.

He wanted to know how she'd brought it all back.

How she'd sent him flying to the ground, hit with the full impact of his returning memory like a ball had been hit by a bat with full power at close range, pummelling into his skull.

How she'd broken the spell.

 

But above all that, he wanted to know why.

Why did she save him?

Why didn't she just leave him?

He'd. Just. Tried. To. KILL. Her.

Why the hell would she bring him to safety, nurse him back to health?

 

But he didn't ask.

 

He sat down at the small wooden table, feeling extremely awkward and jumpy. The house was cosy, decorated simply. A large, pale pink armchair with a white throw rug over the head sat in the corner, sunlight shining warmly through the window onto the seat where a solid black cat snoozed peacefully. It had a small pink bow around its ear and another tied gently around its tail. It didn't seem to mind either accessory.

 

"That's Moeka" said the girl, coming out from the kitchen laden with food, noticing Zane looking at her pet.

 

She placed a plate full of vegetables, meat and bread in front of him with some cutlery. She had her own plate but she didn't sit down, she plucked a potato wedge from his plate and left the room once again. Had he not already been suspicious of the food, he would have found her action strange. But her taking that piece of food was her proving it's harmlessness. So Zane tentatively began the food. However he couldn't be hesitant for long, he was hungry and the food was delicious.

 

Just as he was finishing, the girl came back and sat down two seats away from him.

 

"I have a few questions" she said, golden eyes on his. Zane swallowed, finished, before replying.

 

"As do I" he stared back. She nodded slightly.

 

"Fine, but I'm first" she replied. Zane ground his teeth together but said nothing, nodding. She cleared her throat.

 

"Well, I have two big questions" she looked absently at her cat, still snoozing silently in the sun "First of all, what happened to you, you and your family those years ago? Why did you all disappear?" Zane nodded, signalling that he understood her question.

 

"Secondly, what happened to you? Like, the other day, when you fainted?" she voiced her confusion "I said your name and you freaked out"

Zane gulped. This was going to take a while to explain. And he didn't really want to either. Why should he tell her?

 

"I really don't see why I should explain anything to you" he grumbled, his arms crossing.

The stare she gave him was so intimidating, he was pushed to the edge of telling her. Her golden eyes stared unwaveringly into his own, her small pink lips passive and closed. Her head was tipped slightly on an angle, framed by her pink bangs. Those golden eyes, they held a fire. A fire that sparked and danced, though when attacked or attempted to put out, it hissed and glowed. Burned.

 

"If you want answers from me…" she said, her high voice calm and collected "it's only fair you answer my questions. Need I remind you of my hospitality?" Zane ground his teeth. She was right, and most unfortunately, he _hated_ owing people.

 

"Fine" he spat, pausing to collect his thoughts.

 

"My family, as I'm assuming you know, was the most prestigious in the whole kingdom of Ru'an. We ruled from the state of O'Khasis, almost unstoppable. However someone did."

He drew a shaky breath before continuing.

 

"Shad. Somehow, I'm not sure, he managed to cast a spell on my entire family three years ago. We forgot who we were. What we did for Ru'an. I'm guessing he just strolled into the castle from there with his army of 'shadow-knights'. My entire family was home that day, but not me. I was out on business for my father, therefor I escaped his tyrannical clutches"

 

"I think he has my family prisoner, for what; they do not know. And they won't know unless I help them" he realised with an unpleasant jolt.

 

"I've been working as a bounty hunter ever since. I didn't know what to do when I lost my memories, I needed money, so I turned to whatever I could"

 

"if you were cursed to forget, then why do you remember?" the girl asked quietly. He considered her momentarily.

 

"If I'm correct, that's the answer to your second question" he said, sighing.

 

"I believe that, to break the spell, we were to be told our identities. Hard to break considering we were cursed to forget just that" he spat distastefully.

 

" _I_ broke _your_ spell?!" she said, obviously shocked.  

"The moment you told me, everything came back…" he shivered violently, reliving the moment. He'd looked down at her, disgusted at what a weak, pathetic human specimen she seemed to be. He'd swung his sword to kill, only to have the spell broken at that moment. The memories had hit him with the force and pain of a mace to the head and he'd fallen unconscious.

 

"…and as a result of the of the memories and the broken curse, you fainted?" she guessed. A nod was the only reply.

A minute of silent thoughtfulness was thick between them. Eventually, the girl spoke up again.

 

"You want to find your family?" she asked. Zane hesitated before answering, he wasn't sure what this girl had meant by asking such a question.

 

"And restore them to their rightful place on the throne" he said through gritted teeth. The hatred for Shad consumed him, bubbling away like deadly poison. When he got his hands on Shad, he was going to regret everything malicious he'd ever done.

 

"Well, you're in luck" she said, standing up to clear away his plate "Me and my friends just happen to be in the business of stopping Shad. Among other things…"

Zane wasn't sure whether to that was lucky or not.

 

In the process of leaving the room, she stopped in the doorway, remembering something.

 

"Did you have a question for me?" she didn't turn around.

 

_What is this place?_

_Who are your friends?_

_Who are_ you _?_

_What do you mean; I'm in luck?_

_How did you know who I was?_

_…_

_Why did you save me?_

 

"No, no questions"

 

She continued through the doorway, long pink hair swaying with her graceful movements.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after a surprising amount of thought, I decided to let Kawaii~Chan be the girl who saves our Ro'Maeve. In his universe, there are no Mei'fwa (werewolves are another story but they will be more like the classic werewolves that we all now outside of Aphmau) so KC doesn't have ears or a tail. Though she does have a cat. I literally had no idea what to call it though so I decided to name it after Kawaii~Chan's VA in the shows, 'MegaMoeka'.
> 
> Crafting Aus is hard btw, but I kept getting ideas of how each character fitted in and now I've got a pretty good idea of what will be happening. But it'll all pretty sketchy so bear with me my lovelies :3
> 
> Strap in for a bumpy ride.
> 
> More characters will appear soon. I've already wrote a bit of a future chapter that came to me and I just HAD to write down. Its got Aphmau, Dante, Katelyn, mentions of Laurance and Lucinda and lets not forget Travis.  
> So hang on and you'll get your favs :D  
> Love,
> 
> ~Wishful


	3. To be a Good Person

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zane and Nana make a truce

Nana lay in her bed, thinking. Her neck ached where Zane had previously tried to strangle her and there was an ugly purple and blue bruise all around her throat. She'd locked her door the moment she'd turned in for the night. While she appeared relaxed and unguarded around Zane (much to his obvious irritation); she wasn't stupid. She kept a dagger nearby and her sword was in the corner (luckily, she'd been using her spare one when she lost it fighting Zane. Her favourite one held too much importance to her).

 

She needed to contact the guild, she knew that. But how was she to go about this? They needed information from Zane, a lot of it too. However he was incredibly hostile and not at all keen to help or share the information he held so high and with such a heavy price. Not to mention he was a bounty hunter. Literally everyone at the guild were wanted by the king, each with a large amount of money offered for their capture, dead or alive. She knew that he needed help too, but how far was he willing to stray from his life as of the past few years when the reward of turning them over was so great? And if they fought him and won, he'd be even less likely to tell them anything as their prisoner. She didn't know what to do.

 

One thing she did know; the longer it took for an attack on the king to happen, the harder it would be when it did. He and his forces were growing stronger, more powerful with every passing day. And the rebellion…

Weaker.

Weaker, they were slowly whittled away as comrade by comrade, friend by friend, family member by family member they fell; captured, killed or tortured for information.

With this though on her mind; Nana drifted off into an uneasy sleep. She would waste no time. She would take Zane the guild as soon as possible. As soon as she knew she could trust him enough that he wouldn't betray them. She hoped the knowledge that he needed them as much as they needed him was enough for at least a temporary trust.

 

  * ••



 

She left her room the next day fully armed. She wore silver armoured boots, a silver chest plate and headband to match. A short pale pink skirt and a matching cropped top with long sleeves tucked under the gloves and chest plate. A white belt-sash strapped her sword to her back and another white belt around her waist held her mini crossbow at her hip, plenty of little arrows in a small leather quiver next to it. White fingerless gloves adorned her hands.

 

She found find him already standing there, he was wearing all the clothes he had been when she'd nearly died; his cape, waistcoat and sheath back in place. Her own sword was a beautiful pale pink crystal sword, semi-transparent with a dark pink glass rose set into the hilt. The whole weapon looked extremely fragile, yet she knew it to be unbreakable. And sharper than almost any sword she'd ever seen, just one contender belonging to a dear friend of hers (luckily).

 

She was about to speak, to reason with him, when he spoke first

 

"I have grudgingly realised that I will require assistance with my goal. I also recognise, most unfortunately, that you and your little _group,_ are ideal for this task. Fortunately, I believe you also require my assistance. So I… request… an alliance, of sorts."

 

He turned silently, standing tall. Nana would be lying if she said she didn’t feel intimidated. But she didn't let herself show it. She kept her eyes locked onto his own as she replied.

 

"I was planning on saying the same thing" she said. What she could see of his face seemed to flinch. The idea that they were thinking along the same lines appeared to aggravate him. She sighed before continuing.

 

"You make some good points and it's definitely true that my friends and I could use your assistance. I plan to visit our base as soon as possible, it would be… useful if you came along." she paused and noticed the way he was absentmindedly stroking her cat. Moeka seemed to like him.

 

"But I don't see how I can trust you not to betray us once you have our location. Not after you tried to kill me in cold blood" she said, her voice barely kept from shaking in her suppressed rage.

 

She'd tried to keep calm about it, but since she'd helped him so much and she hadn't received a 'thank you' or even 'why?". It was like he thought he deserved to be saved and, as she was still having trouble breathing without groaning in pain, Nana didn't believe he did, as harsh as it sounded.

She felt her face begin to twist with anger and she tried hard to stop it. Then she saw something in his face; resolve? No. Reproach. The beginnings of guilt or second thoughts on his actions. She immediately felt slightly calmer. At least he had _some_ human emotion.

 

"You shouldn't. I don't deserve your trust." he replied quietly, his voice was flat and neutral "but if there's any reason for me not to betray you, it's that I don't have a choice. Any of my previous goals, including rounding up you and your friends, is null now that I remember everything.

"My only goal right now is to stop Shad and restore my family to its rightful place, on the throne. And unfortunately not only is that one of your goals, as far as I can deduct, but your group seems the best bet to reaching that goal. Also, I owe you a lot right now. Maybe not my life, for yours was spared depending on how you think about it, but my memories, my character or soul or however you want to put it. I owe that to you.

"So, if anything, don't have faith in me; have faith in what forces me to aid you and your friends"

 

She looked at him, he suddenly seemed less intimidating. He didn't look like a powerful monster to her, as he had before, unstoppable and dark. He just looked like a man, a man with his own problems and in need of help.

 

"You finished your sermon there Mr. Ro'Maeve?" she said sarcastically, eyebrow raised. He made a strange sound and a moment later she realised it was a laugh. She couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise.

 

"Quite, now are you willing to make a truce with me or not?" he held a hand out and waited. She regarded him for a minute or so without moving.

 

"You have my royal vow that I will aid you and your friends with unwavering loyalty until our goal is reached"

 

"You're hardly royal" she rolled her eyes before sighing and grudgingly taking his hand. "But I'm holding you to that" They shook on it.

 

"When do we head out to this 'base' of yours?" he said, withdrawing his hand. Nana could have sworn he rubbed the hand that had touched hers on his pants under his cape.

 

"The moment I've packed some food and given you your sword back" she replied, moving to her room to collect the weapon.

 

"You… you kept my sword for me?" he asked. He sounded confused, almost lost. She couldn't meet his eyes but she handed it to him and he inspected it quickly as if making sure it was actually real. Apparently satisfied, he sheathed it and she realised she was clutching the hand he'd cut with it that other night. There was horrible gash there that was healing unnaturally slow. She supposed the sword's dark aura had something to do with it.

 

Shaking it from her mind she moved onto the kitchen and prepared supplies. Once they were ready she called for Moeka and walked out the door and into the cave that served as an entrance to her little home. Zane followed her so silently it was even more unnerving that it would be anyway, which was saying something.

The whole thing was odd. Only a few days ago she was desperately trying to escape Zane, then she took him back to her home unconscious and healed him for a few days before he woke, now she was about to go on a journey with him after making a truce.

She suddenly wondered if he was feeling better. When he'd woke up at first, he appeared to be in a lot of pain. Hopefully they wouldn't have to take a rest break but if he was feeling poor they might have no choice.

 

They walked out of the cave to the other side of the cliff that her house clung to, weaving through a thick growth of trees and vines. They journeyed in silence for the whole day, only stopping once briefly to eat. Moeka the black cat wove in and out of sight throughout the day. Nana was deep in thought the whole time.

 

Zane seemed different, as if the realisation that he needed her help had snuffed out his bitterness. Eventually she realised this was probably out of interest of the truce. That or the anger had originally grown from the confusion and pain brought by the curse he’d been subject to. It had to be more than frustrating knowing that you'd forgotten everything and trying for at least a year to remember why. Now that he knew, maybe he also remembered what it was like to be a good person.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hope you enjoyed :3 �  
> The next chapter introduces some more characters that you know and love, so stick around.
> 
> Please leave a comment!  
> Love, 
> 
> ~Wishful


	4. First impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zane meets the Phoenix Alliance

He followed her to a small town. The buildings were run-down and dirty, the inhabitants much the same. Shadow knights were few as the village didn't seem much of a threat, but their dark, severe-looking armour was the most regal thing by far in the area, which was saying something. However Nana didn't lead him into the town, instead they skirted the edges until they reached an old, deserted building built into the sheer side of a small mountain on the edge of the village.

 

The building seemed to be a rejected tavern, part of it smashed in and splintering. Nana explained in whispers that the town used to be a healthy one, however since the reign of Shad and the arrival of his violent knights, it was brought to ruin, like many others. They walked to the side of the building where a thick growth of trees and foliage blocked them from view and vines clung to the side of the cliff.

 

At the very corner of the tavern, where it met the wall of rock and the ivy was the thickest, Nana pulled off a necklace from around her neck that had been tucked under her clothes. It had a fine, silver chain and a tiny droplet of some sort of pink gem dangling delicately from the chain, glistening in the light that filtered thought the trees.

Letting the gem rest in her hands, she closed her eyes. The sparkles it had been emitting from the light shining on it grew brighter, reflecting swirling patterns of light onto the wall and into the corner. From underneath the flora that hugged the wall; a pink pattern shone, swirling and weaving outwards from one point in the centre until a tall arch was just visible underneath the vines. The black cat, Moeka, sat quite still next to her owner who was just as motionless. They watched, unphased, as the arch -light and rock both- began to fade entirely. A dark, stony passageway was now open behind the still-present ivy, the distant light of a torch the only signal just how long the damp passage was.

 

Immediately, the cat slunk under the plants and began trotting through the new path, soon only her bows were barely visible in the shadows. Nana grabbed some of the vines and held it over her head as she too passed through with barely a sound. Zane followed, bewildered, and the wall faded back behind him soon after.

They walked for a few minutes, stopping only a short distance after the first torch. It was evident that the corridor ended much further along but Nana simply pushed a random stone into the wall and another passage opened, this time the rock slid quickly aside instead of fading. She looked back at him for the first time in a while, smirking cheekily at his puzzled expression.

 

"To throw them off" she gestured down to the continued corridor they'd just left before. They walked down the new corridor, the door sliding shut behind them, which was significantly nicer and brighter. Regular torches dotted the wall which was nicely cobbled and the floor was properly flat and wooden planks had been put in place. When they finally reached the next door, it was a heavy dark oak, properly polished with a small peep hole and tarnished gold handles.

Nana knocked once.

 

"Password?" someone asked through the door. Nana thought for a moment before sighing as if amused.

 

"People from Meteli are the best?" she said and the door swung open. A man stood, holding it open. He wore a red collared jacket with black buttons done up save a few at the top, sleeves rolled up, over a white shirt and brown pants. A pair of work goggles was perched on top of his mousy brown hair. He looked somewhat weak in physique but Zane saw in his face a certain smartness and eagerness for knowledge. He gave Nana a small smile and nodded to Zane.

 

"Why is it that _you_ get to decide the passwords Kenmur?" Nana laughed softly, the man joining in. She didn't wait for a reply -or maybe wasn't expecting one- as she took a few steps into the room and turned around, gesturing with one hand as if presenting it to Zane.

 

"Welcome to the Phoenix Alliance"

 

It was a huge room with a cobbled ceiling and walls and a wooden floor like the hallway before. Thick, dark wooden support beams were placed regularly up from the ground and across the high ceiling. On both sides of the room, against the wall, were tall wooden staircases that lead up to a platform that ran all the way around the far wall and most of the adjacent walls in a squared 'C' shape. There were doors all along the platform, leading to other rooms. On the immediate left and right were a few worn couches against the wall on each side. The room seemed to have originally been a lobby type area, but it was more of a training room now.

 

There was a row of training dummies wearing random bits of mismatched battered old armour, punching bags were placed in another row next to these. There were racks of different weapons and armour, a mini arena in placed in the middle. A row of targets with an assortment of arrows planted in them was along another wall. Makeshift weights were strewn around and there was the occasional metal bar sticking horizontally out of the wall, higher up than the average person, which seemed to be there for people to do chin-ups whenever they pleased.

In the last space against one of the walls was, slightly strangely, what looked like a bar. However, drinks of all kinds were displayed and there were things to cook with too.

 

Zane turned his attention to the people in the room.

 

A woman in the corner was punching a very battered and beat-up punching bag. She had long, flowing wavy blue hair the colour of ice yet every few punches a flare of orange fire engulfed her hand and left scorch marks across the punching bag. She had yellow fingerless gloves made of some strange material that was obviously immune to fire with a black patch on the back and a small red mark. They appeared to contain something hidden underneath but Zane couldn't see what.

A moment later, just when he thought the bag couldn't be punished enough, a silver flash from both hands left deep, ragged slash marks through the material, stuffing flying out only to get turned to ashes by the woman's flames. She had a plain light blue long-sleeved shirt tucked into brown shorts, but silver and blue armour sat on a table nearby and he suspected it was hers.

 

"Fire-Fist" Nana saw Zane looking and prompted him "She can get pretty hot-headed, so _don't_ set her off"

He ignored the puns and looked around more.

 

A bit away from Fire-fist was a man who also had blue hair, but his was a dark ocean blue and messy. He wore full bronze armour and a silky red cape down his back. He slashed at training dummies with two red blades so fast he was practically a blur.

 

"That's Binario, Bi for short" she said, and he could hear something strange and almost weary in her voice.

"Two swords, two legs, arms, ears" Zane listed "…two eyes" he added and Nana giggled, but her heart wasn't in it.

 

"And a two children" she said "from two different women"

Zane looked at her, she forcibly looked away from the man who was still tearing down dummy after dummy.

He decided not to push the topic.

 

Standing, watching the two people practice (though Zane noted his eyes were particularly trained on the woman) with his arms crossed and his body rested against a wooden support, was another man.

 

He was lightly tanned with stark white hair cut shorter at the sides and back but with a longish side fringe rather like Zane's except short enough that you could see both of his startlingly bright green eyes. He had a cocky face, but a tough, guarded expression hidden underneath. A large, threatening looking sword was strapped across his back. It was impossible to tell whether it was red, blue or black as it seemed to change. In one hand he clutched a tattered, old book with a skull on the worn cover. He wore a rough, black jacket with red insides and brown elbow and shoulder pads, a plain white shirt and black pants with brown knee-high boots.

 

"He's Enki, relentless flirt but extremely powerful" Nana nodded towards the man "his father is a demon"

 

"Like, he's an evil jerk?" Zane said, watching the man. He could feel a dark presence coming from the book. "Or he's a literal demon?"

 

"Both" was the reply. Zane shuddered involuntarily before peeling his eyes away.

 

On a counter on the far side of the room was another woman. She was sitting on top of it, watching both of them, whilst drinking something. Her eyes were a dark amber colour, a warm brown, and her hair was long and raven black. She wore a deep purple jacket over a black shirt with a belt slung over her shoulder like a sash. A silver shoulder pad on each shoulder and knee. Her pants were tight and dark grey under knee-high black boots. There was a purple bow the same colour as the jacket in her hair, holding some of it back with a half-up-half-down style that left her fringe and bangs hanging out to frame her face. She wore black fingerless gloves and one of her wrists was neatly tied with a worn red cloth. Her skin was a soft tan colour.

Lying next to her on the counter was a huge purple sword. It had a presence about it that reminded Zane of his own sword except this one wasn't quite as dark. But it wasn't good either.

Moeka slunk over to her and leapt onto a stool and then onto her lap. The woman stroked it but still watched Nana and Zane.

When this happened, Nana finally looked over and began walking towards the woman.

 

"Nice to see you KC" the woman said, a tone of relief present under a note of amusement "we all thought you were dead"

 

"Aww, were you worried Aphmau~Senpai?" Nana replied and Zane was struck by the change in her voice. She sounded almost silly… childish… yet undeniably cute.

The woman chuckled pleasantly and moved to sit on the stool her feet had been resting on before patting the one beside her, inviting Nana to join her.

 

"So, who's your friend?" she flicked her head in Zane's direction.

 

"Uh, this is Zane~Kun" Nana replied and Zane wondered where the 'Kun' came from "He's looking for… some people"

The woman raised an eyebrow suspiciously yet held out a gloved hand to shake his anyway.

 

"Well… Zane… I hope we can help you with that. Once you've done something for us first, of course"

Zane must have looked as confused as he felt because she explained further.

 

"It's customary payment here. A favour for a favour, info for info etcetera" she waved a hand dismissively.

 

"So in other words-" he began.

 

"We'll help you find who you're looking for, if you help us find who we're looking for" the woman finished, nodding and taking a swig of her drink.

 

"You up to help with this Kawaii~Chan?" she continued, looking at Nana. Zane was confused to say the least, why was this woman calling Nana 'Kawaii~Chan'?

 

"Of course Aphmau~Senpai! Who we getting?"

 

"Who's Kawaii~Chan?" Zane burst out before 'Aphmau' could reply. She blinked widely, eyebrows scrunched, confused.

 

"O-oh, sorry Zane" Nana held her forehead with her hand "that's me. It's the name I go by when I'm… working"

 

"You know her real name?" Aphmau raised her eyebrows eagerly, then shook her head "No, it doesn't matter. I gotta get you two going, your mission is urgent"

They both turned to face her, listening closely. Zane was still incredibly wary of her, but unfortunately he needed these people's help. And if this was the only way, it was the only way.

 

"Two of our best people are in severe danger right now, code red" she said, looking suddenly stressed "One of them is gravely injured and out cold and they're both in jail, to be executed the day after tomorrow at dusk. We received their SOS just before they were caught"

 

"Who!?" Nana squeaked, looking extremely concerned now, obviously worried that these people where her friends.

 

"Our dear Messi and White-Witch" she sighed, looking practically distraught at this point. Nana gasped. Friends of hers.

Zane silently reminded himself that this is why it’s far better not caring about people. Less pain when they get hurt. But those names… so odd, he was bewildered.

 

"Fire-Fist? Binario? Enki? Aphmau? Messi? White-Witch?!" Zane spluttered, confused "What kind of names do you people have?!"

 

"Codenames" Aphmau replied swiftly, obviously amused.

 

"Codenames…" Zane repeated in disbelief.

"Everyone in this business has a 'codename', it helps protect their identity" she chuckled, leaning against the bench on one elbow "So what's yours?"

 

He was about to answer and say that he didn't have one, because he _wasn't_ in this 'business'. But he realised… he was. Their business was revolution (or at least, as of Shad it was), and Zane was looking to get into that.

So instead he replied with the name he'd been feeding to every employer and person who'd asked since he'd lost his memory and his family those years ago. When he couldn't even remember his own name yet he was left with the knowledge of the world and the aching feeling of his absent memories, ever present and impossible to ignore, the feeling of the space that he just couldn't fill. Like an itch that won't go away and you just can't reach, no matter hard you try. So he had made a new name for himself;

 

"Chagrin"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ima explain the thinking behind each codename because some people will wanna know and tbh I just wanna so:
> 
> Fire-Fist= Katelyn (obvious I guess) (Just btw, in this Au she can like, summon fire. It's her magic. (She's like a fire bender if you know avatar stuff))  
> Binario= Dante. Binario is Italian for binary. Like Bi. Meaning two.  
> Enki= Travis. Coz he looks exactly like Enki from diaries and he's his descendant. Idk, it's easy.  
> Aphmau= Aphmau but in this AU her normal name is Irene, but she doesn't like it so she NEVER goes by it.  
> Kawaii~Chan= Nana/Kawaii~Chan (like normal)  
> Messi= Laurance. Coz he was soccer captain in PDH and coz in diaries he's a bit of a mess of a person tbh. (I love him tho, don't get me wrong)  
> White-Witch= Lucinda. Got that from diaries s2 when Aphmau finds Lucinda again coz there were the stories about people being saved in the snow by a witch dressed in white (Lucinda) (bad name, I know)  
> Chagrin= Zane. Chagrin is French for Grief/Sorrow.
> 
> Kenmur doesn't have one because he pretty much lives in the base and doesn't really do fighting, just planning and research.
> 
> There will be more people mentioned soonish, more au backstories told etc.  
> Thnx for the support, you guys make my day <3
> 
>  
> 
> ~Wishful


	5. Tying loose ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> everythings a mess, including emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yep im back

Nana was eager to get going, she was becoming increasingly worried about her comrades with every minute spent not going to rescue them. So after Aphmau gave her some directions to the town where they were being held captive (a small town called Pikoro where her two comrades had been attempting to extract some helpful individuals), she led Zane back through the entrance of the guild. Once again he followed silently, questioning nothing even when she didn't tell him where they were going.

 

She wondered if, what had happened the past day or two, meant anything. Were they friends now? Certainly allies, right? They'd shaken on it. It was honestly pretty terrifying. _He_ was pretty terrifying. On the occasions they made eye contact, she had to supress a shiver that went up her spine and ignore the tingling around her neck where his cold hands had stopped air reaching her lungs. Yet there was something about him that made her being to trust Zane. She was cautious of this as it could be a deadly mistake, but somehow she felt as though it wouldn't be.

 

It was a half-day journey to Pikoro Village from the guild and they decided to leave most of their supplies there as they would be coming straight back if the mission was successful. They carried only their weapons, a few small food items and water, along with light and easy-to-carry supplies they might need, like rope. When they got to the outskirts of town, they walked around the edges to avoid the prying eyes of the Shadow Knights and their supporters. He tapped her shoulder and pointed at one point, directing her gaze to one particular stone building. Squinting, Nana noticed there were more guards placed around that building and the surrounding area than other places in town, and the only window they could see from their angle had bars on it.

She nodded to Zane and they quietly made their way to the building. The two of them ducked behind a nearby building before they heard it.

 

"YOU REALLY VALUE YOUR STUPID, PATHETIC 'REBELLION' MORE THAN YOUR LIVES?" someone yelled from inside the building. The reply was muffled but the next sound Nana heard was the sound of flesh hitting flesh and a grunt of pain. She moved closer to the building and strained her hearing to catch what was being said

"…until tomorrow to spill the location of your puny rebel friends before I kill you and your unconscious little witch friend"

The sound of a metal door slamming shut followed and the sigh of a man losing hope, fast. Nana crept back to Zane briefed him on what she'd heard.

 

"Bad news, they seem to have moved the execution date one day sooner than originally planned" she explained in hushed tones. "We need them out of there ASAP"

 

"You got a plan?" he replied, face impassive. She looked back at the building.

 

"Yeah, I think so. But I'm going to need to tell them in advance so they know what to do"

 

"I can distract some of the guards, raise the alarm and draw them to the other side of town to buy you some time" he suggested, observing her closely.

 

"Good idea. Just don't get caught, I don't want the rescue count to climb up to 3" she replied. He nodded and started walking away.

"Wait!" she called softly after him. He turned.

"Rendezvous back here, ok?"

He nodded again and disappeared into the foliage.

 

Turning back to the jail cells, Nana waited silently, pressed up against the neighbouring structure. A couple of minutes later she heard distant yelling and before long she saw guards run towards the sounds and, no doubt, Zane.

Darting through the underbrush, she came to the barred hole in the wall about double her height from the ground. Instinctively looking over her shoulder; Nana drew her sword and aimed. She thrust it straight down into the hard ground before resting her weight on it slowly to test its stability. Satisfied, she planted one foot on one side of the hand guard and, using the wall to pull herself up, stepped up onto it and rested her other foot on the other side of the handle. Now crouched on top of her sword she slid her hands up to the bars carefully, silently praising her light weight, strong blade and good balance as she unfolded herself to peer into the cell room.

A seemingly generic jail cell lay before her, on the other side of the indoor bars on the opposite wall was a weapons rack housing a bright green, deadly sharp sword neighboured by a white wooden staff with a curved end. Nana could just make out thin swirling carvings in the wood. Inside the cell were her two friends in a bad way.

 

"Laurance~Kun!" she whispered to the brunette's bent figure. He looked away from the unconscious red-head he'd been tending to. Eyes widening and mouth almost smiling with fleeting hope as he spotted Nana. Looking quickly down the rest of the stone hallway, out of Nana's sight, to check for guards before engaging with her, he stood up and ran to the window where she balanced.

 

"Kawaii~Chan! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes! Aphmau sent you?" his smile was weak and his face riddled with bruises. Blood dripped from a deep gash in his shoulder. His shirt is ripped at the bottom and sleeves almost intentionally and one quick look at the figure on the floor confirms their use as bandages for his friend.

 

"Long time, no see. I see you aren't doing so well" Nana replied, nodding "Kawaii~Chan has a plan to get you two out of here"

Sighing in relief, Laurance looked behind him to the witch on the floor.

 

"It’ll be hard, she doesn't seem to want to wake up and my arm is in no state to carry her by myself"

 

"Don't worry, I brought backup" Nana reassured him "Here, let Kawaii~Chan explain the plan, we don't have much time…"

 

  * ••



 

 

They were cornered. Guards all around wielding swords and spears, pointed straight at their hearts.

 

"Well this is going well" Zane muttered, hand hidden by his cloak slowly reaching for his own sword.

 

"Yeah, yeah I take full responsibility" Nana replied "at least Messi and White-Witch escaped"

 

"On the count of three, drew your sword at fight. We'll meet back at the secret base right?"

 

"Only if you're not followed" she replied, giving a quick nod to the plan.

 

"In 3…" he said slowly, eyes locked on hers.”2…"

 

He drew his sword and lunged, sweeping his sword in a wide strike, knocking back three of the guards at once. Nana bent her knees in a weird sort of stance as if preparing to jump.

 

"One!" he yelled. Springing up, she jumped backwards and twisted in mid-air, landing behind two bewildered guards. Kicking one in the chest, she slammed the back end of her shining crystal sword into the helmet of the other guard.

Zane was impressed.

 

He ducked a spear and slashed at the legs of the guard who soon fell. He stood up before hearing the sound of another falling behind him. Nana stood with her crossbow empty and still pointed at the spot where the guard had stood to kill Zane a moment ago. The single guard left standing ran back towards town. Out of fear or in an attempt of backup, Zane didn't care.

 

Turning back around, he saw her waiting for him.

They didn't talk while they ran,

 

They jogged all the way back to the town that hid the Phoenix Alliance, right though and to the secret entrance. Doing the same trick with her necklace as before, they entered under the thick ivy and made to continue to the inner entrance, stopping in their tracks when they saw a figure up ahead. The figure was frozen in place and stood very near the first torch that appeared along the wall- right in front of the second secret doorway. It was very obvious he'd been sneaking around until he'd been spotted by the two of them.

Zane swore.

 

"Messi and White-Witch must've been followed. Goddamnit"

 

The guy looked nervous. Zane thought there may be a chance that he was just a lone scout.

Nana charged before he could do anything.

But she had underestimated their foe who easily evaded her attack. Zane ran forward but in the tiny moment where she was in between attacking and stabilising herself for another attack, the scout slashed. She managed to doge what would have cut off her arm and instead got a deep gash to the palm of her hand.

Lurching forward, Zane swung his sword in blind anger. Sparks flew as their swords clashed, his own dragging against his opponents as it carved away the edge, it's owner's eyes widening in alarm. Zane shoved them backwards and slashed as they fell, leaving a large cut across their torso. The scout's sabre slid away as he gasped in pain, clutching his bleeding body. Zane looked to Nana who cradled her hand gingerly, blood dripping consistently onto the floor. The man he'd been fighting crawled to the corner, defeated, and coughed, splatting the ground with more blood. Zane rushed to her and took her hand in his, surveying the damage. Her hand jerked as he did so and he found himself hoping it was merely out of pain, not distrust.

It was bleeding, a lot, but not beyond repair.

 

"Come on, we have to get you inside to get that looked after. We'll get someone to take care of our intruder" He steered her towards the entrance of the guild.

 

"At least it matches my other hand now" Nana said absently, somewhat out of it. He looked down at her a saw her comparing her two hands, one freshly cut and bleeding and the other had an older cut but was hardly better off.

 

"Was that from my sword?" he asked, his voice softer and lower than he meant it to be. A nod was her reply. Muttering a silent curse he pulled a small vial from his waistcoat pocket. It was milky white and glowing slightly. He poured a single drop onto her hand and the old cut started to look cleaner, healing itself slowly but surely.

 

"My sword is a Cursed Weapon" he explained "if you get cut by it make sure you tell me"

She looked at him oddly, perhaps wondering why he was acting so… un-Zane like. He didn’t say anything else as he walked her back to the inner secret entrance, unable to answer his own strange behaviour.

 

He answered Kenmur's password check who soon yelled for help. He watched as Aphmau ran to help Nana, talking in hushed tones, the Alliance leader looking back at Zane after something Nana had said. He watched as the pink-haired woman disappeared into another room and he only moved when he noticed Aphmau gesture for him to follow her into a different doorway. He did so silently, unsure what to expect.

When he reached the raven-haired woman, she opened the door and led him inside.

 

This room was beautiful.

 

It was a large cavern, about as big as the previous room but filled with stalactites and stalagmites and completely lit up, every inch of it. The walls and floors glittered with glowing gems and crystals of all sizes and colours.

"Choose one" Aphmau said simply, rummaging through a chest Zane hadn't noticed when he'd stepped into the room. Unsure what to think, he looked, turning around and around as he tried to take in every single treasure set into the cave. There were gems so pale in colour they were almost transparent, ones so deep in tone you could get lost looking in them. They all glowed and glistened and reflected each other's lights so beautifully… Zane felt… like he didn't belong here. He didn't know which one to choose and the longer he looked the more lost he felt. Until he laid eyes on one in particular.

It wasn't bright, it wasn't pretty. It was perfectly spherical and smooth, tiny and neat. A pure black, minimal light shining through it. It wasn't anyone's first choice, so he took it. Just like the Alliance was doing with him.

 

Aphmau came up behind it and gently prised it out of the surrounding rock, handing it to him. He turned it over in his hand as she brought out some more items. A long silver chain, a shorter silver chain, a hair pin and a ring band. Pointing to the ring, she set about setting the stone in the ring. He watched, thinking about how Nana's hands were doing, until Aphmau was done. She handed the ring to him and closed his palm over it. Taking off a bracelet with a rough, pale purple stone that almost looked like a heart dangling from it, she let it rest on his closed fist and stared intently at it. He was about to ask what she was doing when the purple stone glowed and dark patterns of light surrounded his hand. When they disappeared she took her bracelet and hand away and stepped back, saying;

 

"Welcome, Chagrin, to the Phoenix Alliance"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM BACK sorry for the wait  
> Hope you enjoyed this  
> I don't have a proper beta (sometimes Queen_Of_Potatoos reads my stuff for me but not always) so when I'm in a rush to post things, chances are there are heaps of mistakes and I'm sorry :/
> 
> Thanks for reading  
> Love,  
> ~Wishful
> 
> P.s. just fyi I also found out that chagrin (the codename used for Zane in this) is also used in English (I've never heard anyone say it so I didn't realise) and means "an anger at being let down"�so that's kinda cool and works with my story.  
> Just thought I'd let you know ;3


	6. Pale or Vibrant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back at the Alliance base

Zane waited in the main room for Nana's return, on one of the couches. At one point a white haired girl with bright blue eyes appeared out of one of the unknown rooms and introduced herself as Lovebird, or Jenny. Her pristine white hair was braided down to her waist over a grey dress with blue accents. A single deadly sharp dagger, chrome-like and silver, was tucked into her belt and pale blue ankle boots adorned her feet. She seemed nice enough with a high voice and cheery personality but when a man with light brown hair and chestnut eyes approached and inserted himself in their conversation, she turned sour. The man wore full armour lightly tinted an olive green and a battle axe was strapped to his back. He too introduced himself, simply as Mack (when Zane questioned the lack of codename, he merely shrugged).

 

While he was distracted, Zane felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to find Nana standing next to him. Immediately standing up, he opened his mouth to speak but she beat him to it.

 

"I'm fine now, thanks" she smiled softly at him, eyes clouded "and Lucinda is expected to make a full recovery"

 

"Lucinda? Was that the name of the red-headed woman we saved?" he pondered allowed. Nana blinked, confused, before realising what she'd said.

 

"Yeah, that's her actual name" said another voice. The two of them turned to see a man standing there. Zane recognised him as the other member they'd saved, his wounds tended to and bandaged. He was of average stature and not especially strong or anything, however he had a sharp, jaggedness to him that made Zane feel as though the man was force to be reckoned with. Floppy light brown hair fell over his forehead and curled at his ears. His eyes were a pale blue - darker than Zane's- and dark bags under his eyes only added to the dark feeling Zane was getting about this man. He had pale scars around his neck and his hands and arms, however with his high cheekbones, neat eyebrows and straight nose he looked quite handsome. He held out a hand and Zane shook it warily.

 

"I'm Messi, but if you're a friend of Kawaii~Chan then you can call me Laurance" he gave a lazy smile.

 

"Chagrin" Zane replied, nodding. Laurance raised an eyebrow at his lack of real name but said nothing more.

 

"Are Laurance~Kun's wounds feeling better?" Nana said, her voice disguised once more. To say it threw Zane was an understatement.

 

"More or less, thanks KC" he replied "it's Lucinda who's going to take longer to heal-" Laurance was interrupted by a sharp and desperate knock on the entrance door. They gave the password to Kenmur in an equally panicked tone. In rushed a man with the slumped figure of a woman over his shoulders. He was of exceedingly strong build, tall and huge. He wore a simple faded dark-blue t-shirt that was tight over his muscular torso and slightly ripped in places accompanied by baggy faded black trousers tucked into shin-high boots. Any exposed skin was riddled with scars, huge ones and tiny scrapes alike, but he still managed to look extremely good-looking and rugged. His hair was a dark red but what was most striking was that one eye, his left, was deep green and the other was dark blue.

 

He asked Kenmur for Lucinda. Kenmur pointed to the infirmary but the other man left before he could explain the witch's condition. Behind the muscular man, a woman walked into the room.

She wore a grey cropped top (ripped slightly much like the other man) with tight black pants and dark blue ankle boots. Her hair was a similar shade and was tied in a thick high ponytail that ended at her waist with some strands lose and falling around her face.

She flopped onto the couch Zane had been sitting on and lay there, eyes closed, looking exhausted.

 

"Dottie~Chan, you're back" Nana said to her softly as though not to disturb the other woman to much.

 

"Thank goodness. What a nightmare" she sighed, opening her azure eyes to look at Nana. Only then did she notice Zane standing there. He suddenly felt self-conscious under the woman's intense gaze. A moment later, in one swift movement, she was back on her feet with her hand outstretched. Zane took it.

 

"Codename: BB Call me: Dottie" she shook his hand with a firm grip and rough hands.

 

"Codename: Chagrin" he replied, eyebrow raised "Does BB stand for anything?"

 

"Blue Bitch, I was hoping you'd ask that" she laughed, it sounded like a bark "and I'm not being offensive to myself, I'm just a werewolf"

 

Zane stiffened in her grasp. Werewolves were deadly beings who were classed as one of the types of monsters in his world.

 

"Yeah, that usually puts newcomers on edge" she smiled sadly to herself, letting go of Zane's hand "but don't worry, the other Wolves in the alliance and I have no intention of hurting anyone we don't have to"

Other Wolves? Just how many were there!?

 

"Usually, we use our powers to aid the cause" she continued, looking around the room. Enki and Fire-Fist were at the bar chatting with Aphmau. "But when we can't control ourselves, particularly at full moon, we lock ourselves in there" she pointed at a room with a reinforced door made of something incredibly hard-looking and shiny and had multiple locks. Not sure of what to make of such a sad fate, Zane changed the subject slightly.

 

"How many of you are there?" He asked curiously.

 

"Well, there's myself, Blaze -the man I entered with-, two best friends called Daniel and Rylan and that’s it. Only four of us"

Zane nodded, about to speak when he heard his name called from across the room. He turned to see Aphmau, now alone, gesturing for him to speak with her.

 

He walked over to the bar (hearing the tell-tale sound of Dottie jumping back onto the couch and Nana giggling in response) where she sat and took the seat next to her. She looked him over once before speaking.

 

"Kawaii~Chan said your name was Zane, right?" she said coolly, looking straight into his eye. Zane swallowed slowly.

 

"Yes…" was all he replied, unsure of where the conversation was headed.

 

"Are you… Are you Zane Ro'Meave?" she asked in a hushed tone. Zane felt his breathing go shallow but refused to show any signs of internal conflict. He considered lying but ultimately came to the decision that it'd be pointless. Besides, he trusted this woman for some unknown reason. So he simply nodded.

 

"My hunch was correct… so what happened to you and your family?" she spoke so quietly he had to lean in to hear her. Zane then explained the whole story to her as she listened quietly, her amber eyes giving no clue as to what she was thinking.

 

"Thank you Zane, this information is vital to saving Ru'an. Thank you so much" she looked genuinely happy now. The positive emotions replacing her usually strong and guarded façade. Now instead of looking like a stoic and feared young woman, she just looked tired. Like she was ready for all this nonsense to end. Like she was missing someone, terribly. But still, happy for now. Zane decided not to mention anything. He stood up to leave when she stopped him once more.

 

"Wait, I'm sorry to ask more questions, and you're free to keep the answer to this one to yourself, but I'm just curious…" she said. He sat back down and she took this as an indication to speak once more.

 

"Why do you cover your eye?" she looked suddenly sheepish, as if she instantly regretted asking. Zane replied, unfazed.

 

"As very young kids, my older brother was boasting about how skilled with weapons he was because he'd gotten a lesson in self-defence that day. He insisted on showing me and the knife slipped from his hand and flew into my face, my eye." Zane said, surprised at the emotions he found himself feeling. It was weird suddenly being able to draw memories as old as that one back when for the past years, there'd been nothing.

 

"My eye was beyond repair and so the royal healer had presented two options, eyepatch or replace the eye with another. My father chose the latter." Aphmau looked baffled as she took it all in.

 

"The first person they found was a man whom they offered a ton of money in exchange for an eye. I later found out they took it from this man's daughter because they needed one small enough to fit with me." Zane shuddered.

 

"I'm ashamed of my father's actions and… well… the colours don't match" he said, looking away "I don't like to put it on show"

 

"What colour is it?" came a voice from behind him. Turning his head so fast he almost got whiplash, Zane realised with relief it was only Nana. "Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop"

 

"It- It's ok" He replied, thoroughly un-expecting his voice to sound as soft as it did then.

 

"May we see your eye?" Aphmau asked gently. Zane hesitated. After a moment, the raven-haired female spoke up again.

 

"How about this, I let you in on a secret and if you want to or not, you can show us after. Ok?" she smiled small. Zane nodded and she leaned in to whisper to him so that Nana couldn't hear.

 

"My actual name is Irene" she leaned back and pulled a face "I hate it so much, I've never told anyone here that save only one person"

Zane laughed softly.

 

"Ok, I guess I can show you two. But don't go telling everyone, ok?" he said, hating the way he felt himself shaking. For some reason he was scared of Nana seeing. But he swallowed the feelings and brushed his fringe away. He blinked quickly a couple of times as his eye got used to the sudden light. The two of them stared before obviously trying to look as though they hadn't been staring. Zane could hardly blame them. After all, it's not every day you see someone with one eye a pale blue colour and the other a bright violet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, I wonder what's happened to Kim and why Lucinda is needed!? Any guesses?~
> 
> Also, sorry for so many introductions! There are a lot of characters I want to include in this fic and unfortunately they all seem to want to appear at the same time!
> 
> Also, you may be wondering, but no. Aaron is not a Werewolf in this fic. If Melissa is introduced into this then maybe she will be if it fits the story but as of now; it's just the four wolves in the alliance.
> 
> Finally, The whole eye conversation isn't as random as it may seem, I'll link back to it later ;3
> 
> One Question: How do you feel about the ship Garroth x Melissa? I have an idea that incorporates it but if there's some peeps who thoroughly hate the idea of it, I'll change it. If you don't mind then that’s fine, I promise it'll work well with the fic :D
> 
> Ok, that’s all from me for now,
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! Please leave comments and kudos!
> 
> Love,
> 
> ~Wishful


	7. Old friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A prophecy is made, many things are revealed and hope is ensured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY 3RD YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO MINECRAFT DIARIES!!!

"Lucinda's awake!" Lovebird a.k.a Jenny yelled from the second floor of the guild base. Everyone stopped doing whatever they were doing and started walking up the stairs to another room Zane hadn't been into yet. Jenny proceeded to stick her head into the other rooms to presumably say the same thing. Nana stood up.

 

"Zane, come" she said and gestured for him to follow her and the crowd up the stairs to the room. Covering his eye once more, he followed. The door was a plain dark wood like the others, but a softly glowing purple and green rune was carved into the wood. When Zane walked in, he noticed the room was large and quite easily fitted the big crowd going into it. The floor was a simple dark oak with glowing runes scattered all over it, similar to the one on the door. Everyone gathered around the sides and Aphmau sat on the edge of a table that had pages of notes neatly piled on it. Then Lucinda herself walked into the room. She had dark bags under her crimson eyes and cuts and grazes and bruises littered her body. But she looked determined, resolute. Next, Blaze and Dottie walked in carrying a woman in a stretcher. The woman has chestnut hair with golden streaks and very fair skin, her whole body tense and her face scrunched up in pain. The two Werewolves gently let the stretcher down in the middle of the room and Blaze lifted her onto the floor as Dottie took away the stretcher. Lucinda took a few deep breaths before turning her head to Aphmau.

 

"If you're ready, go for it" Aphmau nodded.

 

Lucinda twirled her staff, her tired eyes sharp and focused as the magic began to appear. Purple swirls and green sparks hovered before drifting to Kim on the floor. They phased into her and her expression eased, brow unfurrowing. A moment later, her eyes opened slowly, one eye the same bright green as the green magic, the other the gentle purple of the other. Standing up steadily, she spoke in a high voice.

 

_If it's the kingdom you want to save_

_You need firstly he,_

_The second Ro'Meave_

_Secondly, she_

_Of pink hair and brave_

 

"That’s some bad poetry" Enki chuckled, his acid green eyes reflecting the light of the magic. Kim was not done it seemed.

 

_Only the two can bring peace once again_

_And restore the Ro'meave's reign_

_With entrance all but main_

_Evil's rule must be slain_

 

Scrunching her face up once more, Kim opened her eyes- which had turned to a normal hazel colour- and shook her head slightly.

 

"Gee, that's one bad headache" she rubbed her eyes and sat down on a nearby chair "thanks Lucinda"

 

"No problem" the witch said in her silky voice "Nicole, could you read out the prophecy please"

A girl with rusty-red hair cleared her voice and read off a piece of parchment she'd been writing on. They all listened carefully once more.

 

"Well the first part's impossible, no one has seen Zane Ro'Maeve for years. He was something of a mystery even _before_ this whole debacle with Shad happened" Fire-Fist said from next to Aphmau, arms crossed. Nana noticed Zane fidget at her words.

 

"Moving onto the second bit" Aphmau watched Zane closely "Who do we know that's brave with pink hair?"

 

"Kawaii~Chan" Zane said immediately. Everyone looked at him, unsure what to make of this outburst. Nana blushed. She noticed Enki looking between the two of them with a raised eyebrow and his trademark smirk.

 

"Very true Chagrin" Laurance nodded thoughtfully "Do we know anyone else?"

There was a thoughtful silence that came up with no other answers, soon Aphmau cleared her throat

 

"That's one bit solved, next ' _Only the two can bring peace once again, and restore the Ro'meave's reign'._ That seems obvious enough _"_ she looked over Nicole's shoulder and read out the rest “With _entrance all but main, Evil's rule must be slain"_

 

 _"_ So what, we don't use the front entrance? Seems obvious enough" Binario chuckled.

 

"I guess so Dante, but I feel like if the prophecy specified something like that, then it's referring to something in particular, and we should take it seriously" Kenmur shrugged. Zane guessed Binario's actual name was Dante.

 

"That, and there's only one known way in and out…" Zane murmured.

 

"What was that Chagrin?" Aphmau asked, causing all attention to be drawn to him.

 

"I… I was just saying that there's… there's only one way in and out of the palace…" he heard sounds of concern and panic at his words and flinched.

 

"How do you know that?" a man said from the other side of Nana. His hair was a dark green and his face boyish but his lapis eyes gleamed like an animal's.

 

 

"M-My father was very paranoid later in his rule and… made it so there's only one way in and out. Reinforced windows and stuff" Zane felt so… un-Zane-like. Scared. And weak. He realised with a twinge that he really wanted to be accepted by these people. "I'm… I'm a Ro'Meave"

He felt the eyes of everyone on him.

 

"Guys, this is Zane" Nana stepped forward with a firm voice "I found him a few days ago and…" she looked at Zane and he could almost hear her thoughts. _’He tried to kill me'._

 

"He was under a curse. The same curse the other Ro'Meaves are under. By a fluke I broke the curse and, long story short, brought him back here and he's contributed heaps of useful information and earned himself a place alongside us"

She finished with a determined expression, as if daring anyone to challenge her.

 

"Not to mention he helped save my life" Laurance spoke up after a moment. Lucinda nodded.

 

"Mine too"

 

"Which in turn, helped me and gave us the prophecy" Kim smiled shyly at Zane.

 

"Which, when paired with the information he supplied me with, our chances of freeing Ru'an have been more than doubled!" Aphmau continued. The sadness inside her that Zane saw before was almost gone, hope in its place.

"And he's given us the opportunity to find one, two or more of our comrades who have been lost because of Shad's tyranny!" she finished with a flourish.

 

And everyone cheered.

 

It started with Enki, giving a whoop and a clap before everyone else joined in.

 

Zane had never been praised so highly in his life. It was amazing, he felt so happy.

He felt a smile on his face and looked at Nana to see clapping along with everyone else and beaming at him. Finally, when everyone stopped cheering him, a man who was standing next to the green-haired man spoke up.

 

"But this still doesn't solve the dilemma with how to get into the palace" he said nervously, copper-y eyes darting apologetically to Zane from under mousy hair.

 

"Well, then I guess it’s about time we paid an old friend of mine a visit" Aphmau replied ominously. Laurance laughed gently and Fire-Fist huffed.

 

"Did you _really_ have to pull out that line?" she rolled her eyes at the raven-haired woman.

 

"Yes Katelyn, I did" Aphmau pouted jokily before giggling "and besides, it's true. I'll take a small team to go find her. KC, Zane; you better come. Who wants to join?"

 

"Well, you always get into trouble when you go out, so I better come" Fire-fist (Katelyn?) yawned, stretching.

 

"Me too" Laurance smiled.

 

"Then that's all set. We'll head out tomorrow morning. Lucinda; I'll give you the other half of my amulet. Please keep it on you so that you'll hear when I'm trying to contact you"

 

"She has necklaces that each have half of a rare magic stone on it" Nana explained in whispers to a very confused Zane "Basically, you can talk to each other through them. The cool part is, the people on either side must hold a mutual trust and bond for it to work. So if the amulets fall into Shad's hands; I doubt many people could use it. The Shadow knights are cold and untrusting. They'd just judge the amulets as random matching necklaces."

 

"That is convenient" he replied.

 

"All right, we're done here. You're all free to go" Aphmau declared.

 

Something was itching at the back of his mind, so Zane loitered as everyone else filed out, planning to talk to Aphmau. He saw Enki sidle up to Nana as they were walking out and whisper something in her ear. A moment later, Nana turned bright pink.

Deciding not to think about it too much, Zane walked over to the alliance leader who was looking over the prophecy once more. She looked up when she noticed him standing there.

 

"I was just wondering…" she lowered the paper to listen to him "what did you mean when you said 'find one, two or more comrades who were lost' or whatever?" he asked.

Aphmau sighed, looking tired once more.

 

"Well, I guess you of all people have the right to know…" she said distractedly. She jumped down from her perch on the table and walked over the wall furthest from the door. Now that there was no one standing in the way, Zane could see a large red curtain hanging there. There was a drawstring on either side of the curtain and Aphmau grabbed one, nodding at Zane to grab the other. She pulled and he did the same, parting the curtain the middle and revealing a large painting featuring a group of people.

 

"This was the original Phoenix Alliance, before Shad came"

 

She stared at the painting, brown eyes raking over every detail until they stopped at one small huddle. Three people stood side by side. It was obvious that the short, tanned woman with black hair in the middle was Aphmau. She was beaming, she looked so young. On one side of her, with his arm around Aphmau's waist, was a tall man with tanned skin and dark hair much like Aphmau, but the resemblance stopped there. He was muscular and his eyes were much darker than Aphmau's. He had slight stubble and his smile was soft and smaller but no less happy. He was looking at Aphmau like she was the sun.

Zane looked the person on the other side of Aphmau. This man was smiling bigger than the both Aphmau and the other man, his arm reaching over Aphmau shoulders and to the other man, pulling the two in close.

With a jolt, Zane realised he knew this man.

He had bright blue eyes and golden hair, a face slightly more rugged but primarily structured the same as Zane's own. It was Garroth, first prince of Ru'an and Zane's big brother.

He gasped.

 

"Yes, Garroth was a member" Aphmau confirmed "He saved me once, and when I told him about the little guild I had been planning back then, he wanted to be a part of it"

Zane couldn't look away from his smiling brother.

 

"You see, the reason I made the guild was because Ru'an, though it may have seemed so, wasn't completely fair even before Shad came. In the more rural or quieter towns, or the ones that were further away from the capital of O'Khasis, either Law-enforcement abused their power or didn't do anything at all to stop crime. When Garroth saw this, he wanted to help. But the thing was, he didn't want to be King"

 

"I-I didn't know that" Zane realised "He always seemed like the golden child or something… always listening to my parents and being good at his lessons and sword fighting…"

 

"Yes, he did tell me all this. But still, he was one of the very first members. He only ever told me and the other man you see next to me about him being a Ro'Meave" she looked sadly at the other man then back at Garroth. Chuckling quietly, she said "his codename was Prince Charming"

 

"Do you mind if I ask about the other man?" Zane asked, looking at Aphmau out of the corner of his eye. The woman next to him looked at the man in the painting, and her face was riddled with pain. When she spoke, her voice was quieter and sounded like she might cry.

 

"His Codename was FC, his real name is Aaron. He… was a good friend to me, for a long time. He disappeared the day Shad came, like your brother. He saved me more times than I can count and I did the same for him. He always knew what to say when I was confused or upset and… I loved him" She said it like every word hurt.

 

"Do you know what happened to him?" Zane said gently. Aphmau shrugged.

 

"Kinda, I mean… he is Shad's son" she said. Zane whipped his head to look at her, eyes wide. She laughed bitterly.

 

"So chances are, he's alive. His father probably has him under a very tight leash" she looked at Zane "He had ran away from home years before it Shad invaded. We were fighting some of the Shadow Knights the day it happened and I got knocked out. When I woke up, all that was left behind were these" she picked up her sword and showed him the red fabric around her wrist. "They were his. And I believe the only reason I was left behind that day was because of him, I think he drew the knights away from me"

She looked down at the two items, now silent.

 

Zane looked over the other faces of the group. Next to Garroth was Laurance, who had Binario next to him, followed by Enki and Katelyn. Lucinda sat in front of Katelyn next to Kenmur who was with another woman who Zane had seen from a distance around the guild. She was very intelligent looking, like Kenmur, and had long blond hair and dark blue eyes from behind big black glasses. There were a couple of other people Zane didn't recognise after that.

Aphmau pointed to one, another blond woman, this one was smirking and her hair was pulled into a high ponytail that went down to her waist. She had dark purple eyes and a crafty look about her.

 

"That's who we're going to find tomorrow, her name is Amber" Aphmau smiled fondly at the picture "She'll be able to get us into your old home"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kim is an oracle! By that I mean she gives out prophesies or visions with the help of Lucinda. If you've read the Heroes of Olympus series then she's pretty much like Rachael Elizabeth Dare but needs magical help sometimes :3
> 
> Just gonna point out that I've had most of this story planned out since before I started writing chapter 2 and I wanted Garroth's codename to be prince charming because of what Katelyn called him in PDH. Then a royal tale came a long and used it again lmao.  
> Also, there's been so much more Aphmau in this fic than I thought there would be, but I mean, I love so…. Also she is heavily tied in with every single character (obviously) and so when I'm trying to explain their backstories in this AU, she's always there. I absolutely promise we'll get more Zana stuff soon. :3
> 
> (wait, should I tag this as Aarmau too???? probably)
> 
> As always, thank you so much for reading!  
> Leave me tips, tell me what you liked, any predictions you have, anything! I love knowing how you guys feel about how my stories are going.
> 
> Again, thank you endlessly,  
> Love,
> 
>  
> 
> ~Wishful

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my DeviantArt! https://01wishfulthinking10.deviantart.com/  
> Bother me on Twitter! https://twitter.com/justWishful5
> 
> Please comment, I love hearing from you no matter whatever you're saying (talk to me bout the weather even, idc) :D


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